This invention relates to electronic musical instruments, and is more particularly concerned with an electronic circuit for use in an electronic organ for simulating the sound produced when a skin head instrument, such as a tom-tom, is struck with a stick.
In the evolutionary development of electronic organs, musical devices have been developed which automatically produce repetitive rhythms for accompaniment with the organ. Such automatic rhythm pattern generators have, in turn, stimulated the development of a variety of electrically produced sounds, the sources of which are often spoken of as "instruments." For example, modern automatic repetitive rhythm devices may include "instruments" producing sounds that may contain a great many frequencies but that have no pitch characteristics, such as drums, cymbals, wood blocks, tom-toms, tambourines, etc. Some of such "instruments" in current commercial use quite closely simulate the sound of the corresponding real instrument, but others either do not provide musically acceptable simulation or are expensive to implement and/or inconvenient to use. Currently available instruments for simulating the sound of skin head instruments, such as tom-toms and bongos, of which applicant is aware do not mimic the real instruments as realistically as desired.
It is the primary object of the present invention to economically produce electrically a sound simulative of that produced when the head of a skin head percussive instrument is struck with a stick.